Blindfolded
by Agent Frostbite
Summary: When Chirrut offered to give Nikki a few tips for how to use her telekinesis, she wasn't expecting an actual training session, and she definitely wasn't expecting to be blindfolded.


**A/N: This is not meant to factor in to any of my other universes. This was just a nice little "what-if" that I wrote after seeing Rogue One because Chirrut is A) AWESOME, B) totally Force-Sensitive, and you can't change my mind, and C) would be a great teacher - especially for someone who doesn't have any teaching yet.**

**(Although, I suppose, if I really wanted to, I could say that this falls in the period when Nikki is 13-15 and traveling with the Doctor, which, now that I think about it, seems like a really great idea...)**

**Also, simply so y'all have a little backstory: Nikki is an Elemental (Frost Phoenix, specifically) which gives her telepathic/telekinetic powers. Originally, she was Force-sensitive, and even had her dad's lightsaber (though his was blue and hers is orange - I took a color test as her and the description fit so well) as her primary weapon, but while writing with my friends, we agreed that four fandoms going into one backstory was a little much and I decided to embrace the Elemental side as the source for her telepathy/telekinesis. Her dad's backstory remains the same, and it hasn't required much change to make sense yet (probably cause I haven't ****_done_**** a comprehensive fic about her backstory that requires a better explanation for "He's a Jedi, and then Star Wars stops factoring in").**

**Anyway, please enjoy!**

"Do I really have to wear this?" Nikki asked, looking around, to no avail. She couldn't see anything through the thick, black piece of cloth tied around her eyes.

"Yes," Chirrut replied. "You will have to use the Force to block the blaster bolts." She knew this was a basic exercise that all Temple younglings went through countless times. Maybe that was the problem. She couldn't deny that, outside manipulating objects and reading minds, her Force/telekinetic (because _the Force_ didn't exist in her universe) skills were nonexistent.

Although, in her book, as long as she could propel crates into enemies, pull her lightsaber to her, read the Doctor's mind to keep him from doing something stupid, and resist mind control or probing, she didn't need any other skills. Her reaction time was lightning fast, so that didn't need improvement. She could sense danger, like Peter Parker (although not always). She could jump higher, run faster, and be stronger when she needed to.

But she respected Chirrut, and he seemed _insistent_ on training her, so she let him.

The quiet whir of the mini-drone powering up filled the room. It was equipped with one low power blaster, a hoverpad, and an array of sensors that allowed it to calculate its position in relation to everything else. There were no algorithms, no calculated patterns. Nothing for her to analyze and predict. She had nothing but instinct to rely on; not that she minded - she was _exceptional_ at instinct.

"Not instinct," Chirrut said, almost as if hearing her thoughts. "The Force." She nodded, even as she determined she could avoid the shots with nothing but instinct and quick reflexes.

Her plan worked well. Not a single shot hit her for almost five minutes. She relaxed when she heard the slight whine of the blaster powering down, and she couldn't help the smirk that appeared. "I'm actually impressed," K2SO piped up from somewhere near the door. "That's not what I expected."

Nikki sighed and pulled the blindfold off. She pointed her tiger orange lightsaber at the reprogrammed Imperial droid. "Does Target Practice have to be here?" she asked, adopting Jyn's nickname for the droid. He bristled, which Nikki managed to admit she hadn't expected either. She was fully aware droids had a range of emotions, but that movement was almost _human_ and that was slightly unnerving to see.

"Yes," Chirrut answered. "He's good practice for keeping your temper under control." Because Lord knows the man knew about her temper issues. "Good job with the dodging. Now, put the blindfold back on and try to catch the shots." He just looked at her, and she knew her plan had been found and foiled, in a way she wasn't yet experienced enough to work around like she just had with the dodging.

She slipped it back on, and grumbled "With what?" She still had her guard down enough that the drone was able to land a hit on her. "Ah!" she shouted, more out of surprise than pain. It felt like a small, electrical zap, something she'd get from working on the wiring of a ship.

"Ideally, not your arm," K2 chimed.

"Make another comment, K2, and I'll learn how to deflect the bolts just so I can hit you with 'em," Nikki growled. Chirrut tapped his staff on the ground lightly, and she settled down. Well, backed off, at least. Then she had an idea.

It wasn't a good one, but it was an idea. Long as that walking scrap pile didn't spoil it for her. She dodged a few more shots, then slipped the blindfold up a little. Technically, it _was_ cheating, but in fairness, she couldn't actually see the drone. She could only see its shadow, and that certainly didn't tell her when the shots were coming or how to catch them. Besides, Chirrut wouldn't know, right?

Wrong.

The moment she got it up enough to see, he tapped her ankle with the stick, throwing her off balance and causing her to get hit again. She sighed. "Don't think I don't know your plan, missy," he chided. He only sounded slightly disappointed, but she felt guilty nonetheless.

"It was worth a shot at least, right?" she asked. She couldn't see his face, but she guessed he wasn't amused. Another shot hit her, this time in the side, and she frustratedly swung her saber in a small arc. She was rewarded with the descending whine and lightsaber hum that signified she'd blocked a shot.

One eyebrow raised. "Lucky block," K2 said. She shot him as dirty of a look as she could manage - the trip had thrown off her sense of direction a little, so she could only guess where he was based on where it sounded like he was - without her eyes. She doubted it got the point across effectively.

"Luck, K2, is how we made it out of Scarif alive," Chirrut retorted with a smile.

"The TARDIS is how we made it out alive..." K2 muttered. Nikki smirked, and swung her saber again. She missed the shot, but the shot missed her. Not a win, not a loss.

"Use the Force to heighten your senses," Chirrut advised. She tapped into the Force and used it to enhance her reflexes. She swung her saber faster, but other than that, nothing happened. "Think about hearing that hoverpad."

"That's impossible!" Nikki exclaimed. "The hoverpad doesn't make a sound."

"Yes, it does," Chirrut replied. "Everything makes noise. One only needs to be attuned enough to hear it. Pick something small and use the resonance to tune your hearing."

Something small? Like what?

_My breathing,_ she thought, as the frustration gave way to epiphany. She quieted her breathing until it was near silent. Then she focused on it. _Deep breath in, deep breath out._ Her focus shifted from reflex to hearing, and when her focus shifted, so did the Force.

Her hearing sharpened, and all of the sudden, her breathing became easier to hear. She also heard other things; the small sounds that filled the space without anyone even realizing what they were. The whirs and clicks of K2's joints as he shifted. The quiet hum of machinery in the ship's cargo hold. The vents turning on and off, barely discernible against the backdrop of other noise. The shifting of her clothes. Even the slight scrapes as Chirrut's staff moved.

And there, buried amidst the noise, was a quiet but unmistakable hum.

_The hoverpad._

She heard it as the drone maneuvered around the room, picking times to fire at random. She dodged the shots, but not randomly, as she had last time. It was calculated. And once she heard the hoverpad, she heard the whine as the blaster powered up, which was quieter than when it powered down.

She knew where it was and when it would fire.

She smirked.

_I got this._

She blocked shot after shot, her saber absorbing the blaster bolts. She stopped keeping count, but just before it stopped, on the last shot, she deflected it...into the wall near the door. Right next to K2's head - and she could tell, because now she could hear it. She heard his start of surprise. "That was on purpose!" he accused.

"I warned you," Nikki replied jovially.

"Good job," Chirrut said, and Nikki's smile grew. "You may remove the blindfold now." She took it off, and Chirrut was smiling widely, almost glowing with pride. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I guess not," she conceded.

"Good. We're doing it again next week."

"Oh, joy."


End file.
